The Cowboys understood the rare person and coach Dan Quinn is.
And after a few interviews for head coaching gigs during the NFL’s latest coaching cycle, it turns out the Cowboys will be keeping their stalwart defensive coordinator.
A source tells The Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins on Thursday he intends to remain with the Cowboys next season.
Quinn interviewed with multiple teams this offseason — including the Bears and Broncos, who both reportedly made their decisions on new coach hires Thursday morning — but, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero who first reported the decision, Quinn ultimately wanted to return to Dallas to try and win a Super Bowl with the Cowboys.
The development also means the questions surrounding Mike McCarthy’s return for a third season as Cowboys coach may still linger.
Publicly, since his team’s 23-17 playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Jan. 16, owner Jerry Jones has been noncommittal about McCarthy’s future. If he made a change, retaining Quinn as the replacement would be the most logical pivot.
Quinn replaced Mike Nolan as coordinator last January. Players quickly bought into the former Atlanta Falcons coach, whose character and communication skills as a teacher and coach were appreciated.
Dallas forced an NFL-high 34 takeaways in the regular season, up from 23 in 2020.
Quinn evolved schematically from his time in Atlanta while clearly communicating his player-prototype vision to scouts. An emphasis on players with plus-length led to a fruitful free agency and draft.
“I think Q just found a way to touch everybody in our defensive room’s heart,” Micah Parsons said after the Cowboys’ season concluded. “I think he found a way for us all to want to fight for him, play for him. Some things is just more than football, and I think that’s what Q represents. It’s never just football with Q.
“I think if he could and he was 30 years younger, he would throw some pads on and fight with us every day of the week. I think that’s always special. He was a hands-on coach. He made sure you really understood everything that was going on. He didn’t let nothing go without being understood, so I think that’s what Q did to us.”
More to come on this story.
+++
Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.